KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 2, 2015:
Complying with a guideline to avoid unnecessarily using loudspeakers, which can disturb people both inside and outside mosques, is not a political issue but actually a commandment by Prophet Muhammad to maintain harmony.
According to Perlis mufti Prof Datuk Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin, the amplified voices of people reciting things other than the azan is not adding to love for Islam but rather causes misunderstandings between many parties.
“Some people are trying to defend the practice on the grounds that it is the recitation of the Quran or zikir which should be honoured.
“They think their tough stance in this regard is in ‘the defence of Islam’,” he said in a statement posted on his Facebook page this morning.
However, Mohd Asri stressed that Islam prescribed the raising of voices only when sounding the call to prayer and there was no directive to raise one’s voice to the point that it disturbed others.
In fact, he said, such actions were prohibited by Prophet Muhammad. Furthermore, in Islam, the peace of others was preserved unless there was a specific exemption allowed by the legislation.
“While reading the Quran and zikir is great, we cannot force others to hear our recitations.
“Maybe other people want to read it for themselves, or want to read it at another time, or they are ill or have small children who are sleep, or they are not obligated to pray, such as menstruating women or non-Muslims among others.”
Mohd Asri said such practices were causing many non-Muslims to become confused between the azan and other recitations made through loudspeakers, causing them to stigmatize Islam despite its harmony.
Furthermore, while the other recitations took a long time, the actual call to prayer lasted no more than five minutes, he added.
“Prophet Muhammad himself banned loud readings of the Quran in the mosque if it disturbed other members of the congregation.
“In fact, if those in the mosque are ready to pray, they are not even allowed to raise their voices to the point that it affects the concentration (of those inside the mosque).
”How then can recitations be amplified through loudspeakers until they disturb those outside of the mosque?”-therakyatpost
